Hairy ordering

 

Hi,

More fun winter project progress. The concrete path stippling has turned out to be quite a long process when you have 36 very long tunnels. We are just over half way, so hopefully another week will see it through. Really pleased with the results, the grip effect is very noticeable, in fact I suspect it must have nearly reached the point where the path H&S guidance moves from a slip hazard to a trip hazard! Sweeping up may not be so easy, but at least my mind has been put to rest on the staff and visitor tumbling front.

I have signed off all but the last handful of new pot label designs, so production of those is imminent, new water filters have been installed in each production tunnel, 1,200 new mini sprinklers have replaced the malfunctioning old ones and most of our wooden trays are now cleaned and stacked in the barn for the winter.

Nearly all the young plants and seeds are now on order, and I even managed to put together an outline guide as to how many plants are coming in and when, which is a first. Usually I don't get time to be that organised and once I have placed the orders it is usually a bit of a surprise when everything arrives during the following season. If it's a difficult year, I can get quite alarmed at even more plants arriving each week, but if it's going ok then I wonder if there are enough. Well I'm pretty confident now that there will be plenty for 2024, especially now it's all illustrated on one bit of paper. Quite scary but exciting at the same time. We are gearing up to increase production by between 15 and 20% for 2024 (we produced and sold about 9% more pots in 2023), so all the advanced ordering had this in mind. There are just under 50 new perennial lines and higher volumes of all those really popular lines we sold out of too quickly this year.

So backup orders are in for more labels, pots, plants and extra wood to make more marketing boxes, an extra delivery vehicle is on the way and we already have someone new lined up to start in the New Year to help with the production and potentially extra deliveries. Not quite an exit plan, but I can't help myself!

More mature peoples maintenance this week with a trip to the optician. Scans and tests confirm against all the odds, that I am definitely getting old. The images they showed me were amazing, technology has certainly come a long way and although they did illustrate quite clearly an issue I had had with one eye earlier in the year, they were reassuring in the detail you could see, and that there was nothing too much to worry about. They then very kindly emptied my bank account by helping me pick a new pair of glasses. Although my prescription was the same, I had mentioned that I have been working from a depleted stock, with a couple of pairs only having one lens left. Not quite sure why I kept them but you never know when that lens might turn up!

Prices for 2024

The last couple of years have seen some explosive cost increases in the after affects of the pandemic, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and now Gaza. We were forced over that time to increase our prices by more than ever before, but still below the inflation rate and definitely well below the rate at which our own costs have risen. However, improved efficiencies, reduced waste and increased output do appear to have made up some of the difference and kept margins workable. Labour remains by far our biggest cost and wage rates rose significantly this year and will again in the coming year, but we are hoping other costs are beginning to settle down and are not rising quite as quickly.

There will be a price rise at the end of the year, but we are keeping it to 4%, at 10p per pot. I know the recent HTA report on plant prices says price increases will result in fewer sales, but absorbing costs is not a grower option here, 'turnover is vanity, profit is sanity' and all that. There is so little margin involved at the growing end that removing more of it makes no financial sense. We have to be financially sustainable as well as environmentally that way.

Availability list.

Cyclamen coum pink and white forms are already on the list and showing the occasional bud. These will usually flower from October through until well into Spring, with a tasteful sprinkling of flowers rather than being drowned in them. There are already a few flowers on the Helleborus niger varieties so Santa can't be far away!

New varieties of H. orientalis for us are Halcyon Early Dark Red and Halcyon White Spotted which have both surprised us by showing a few buds already, especially nor the white one. Both are intended to be quicker flowering varieties, whereas some of the others can be a bit shy until their second season. The ever-giving Erigeron karv. Stallone is available in bud again this week and should be around for ages as this is our big

overwintering batch we are into now. If the weather is with us we often still have colour up to Christmas.

Wooden box collections

Most of our boxes are now collected, cleaned dried and stored away in the barn but if you have any of our wooden boxes ready to return and aren't expecting to order anytime soon, then please do drop us an email and let us know. Thanks. 

Take care out there, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy proof raeding!

Hi,

Looks like a cold snap coming up after a balmy autumn so far down here in the south. Not quite sure what the plants will make of it, it's likely to be a bit of a shock for some, although I suspect most of the shock will be to the crew outside who have been swanning around in shorts making the most of the warmth.

We are still slogging away potting the spring bulbs which seem to be taking forever, partly down to a flurry of orders this week and the 40% extra bulbs I bought in. I was feeling confident that sales next year will be buoyant! Not sure how long that will last, probably until the income dries up in a month or two and winter belt tightening takes a grip. Spring for us can start as early as mid January given some decent weather, so hopefully the winter blues won't last long.

Next seasons preparations continue with more tinkering of our young plant orders and pulling together our annual pot label order. I may have got slightly carried away with ordering a few more new varieties in 2024, with over 40 additions. This makes label ordering a tad more complicated, as all the new ones need labels designing and proof reading before the whole order can be cleared. With an attention span of a goldfish, proof reading is a challenge and I must admit the odd mistake can slip through, which I end up kicking myself for, every time I see that plant going through despatch.

I am certainly guilty of one huge labelling error, in that we still don't have the fact that we grow peat-free mentioned on the labels or on the wooden POS boards. This is a fairly major omission considering the coverage that growing peat-free has been getting over the last couple of years, and the amount of attention being grabbed by those now going down that route. It has been pointed out to me on multiple occasions that this is something we should be shouting about, along the lines of other nurseries sending out stock on trolleys plastered with plastic banners proclaiming their peat-free status. We have been using peat-free composts for over 10 years so we are probably reasonably justified in mentioning it, but we will be avoiding any shouty plastic use, to promote it (whatever happened to 'joined up thinking'?).

We are going to put the situation right this winter with a slightly revamped label design which will simply say 'peat free' on the front and a little message on the back. We will also be reprinting the wooden POS boards with the peat free message and will also mention our 100% plastic free marketing package (pot, boxes, labels & POS), which apparently is worth a quiet toot as well. All quite subtle, we wouldn't want to blow our trumpet too loudly.

Prices for 2024

The last couple of years have seen some explosive cost increases in the after affects of the pandemic and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. We were forced to increase our prices by more than ever before, but still below the inflation level and definitely well below the rate at which our own costs have risen. Luckily we have improved efficiencies yet again, reduced waste and increased output which hopefully has made up the difference and kept margins workable. We are currently working through the financial results of this season to see how we have coped, so we can then make a judgement call on the prices for 2024. Labour remains by far our biggest cost and that is rising again significantly in the coming year, but we are hoping other costs are beginning to settle down again and not rising quite as quickly. There will be have to be a price rise at the end of the year, but hopefully not as big as last year, we will let you all know in couple of weeks, when our figures are ready. I know the HTA report on plant prices says price increases will result in fewer sales but absorbing costs is not a grower option here, there would be no point in growing anything as there is virtually no safety margin should something go slightly wrong and no reward for anyone for the hard work and commitment it takes to get our plants grown and distributed. 

Availability list.

Cyclamen coum pink and white forms are already on the list and showing the occasional bud. These will usually flower from October through until well into Spring, with a tasteful sprinkling of flowers rather than being drowned in them. There are already a few flowers on the Helleborus niger varieties so Santa can't be far away!

New varieties of H. orientalis for us are Halcyon Early Dark Red and Halcyon White Spotted which have both surprised us by showing a few buds already. Both are intended to be quicker flowering varieties, whereas some of the others can be a bit shy until their second season.

The ever-giving Erigeron karv. Stallone is available in bud again this week and should be around for ages as this is our big overwintering batch we are into now. If the weather is with us we often still have colour up to Christmas. Tiarella are looking healthy with plenty of flower.

Wooden box collections

If you have any of our wooden boxes ready to return and aren't expecting to order anytime soon, then please do drop us an email and let us know. Thanks.

Take care out there,  from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.

Hairy ordering

Hi,

Summer blast in the south for the next few days which should make outdoor pastimes very popular for a little while longer. It's going to be a shock when the cold weather eventually pitches up after another warm Autumn so far. Only a few weeks until our little annual break in Cornwall, can't wait, but I can't really believe we will be togged up in our winter kit striding out along the cliff-tops and into warm dark smoky pubs for vital sustenance. This will be the first really long trip testing out the range of the electric car, so slightly anxious about that as St Ives last year had very few, if any, public chargers. Tesco in Carbis Bay had a couple of little ones but it's not a holiday venue we frequent very often. I'm sure it will be just fine, we already know we can get there without a recharge and that's the main thing. If we can't get home we will just have to stay longer.

The bulk of our spring bulbs arrived for potting this week, so busy getting those into pots now. It's a slow old process counting out the right number into each pot, at the right depth, topping up, traying up then mulching, putting down and watering. We have had 11 people in the team over the last couple of days and still potted less than 4 people would if potting standard sized modules. There is no shortcut, it just has to be done right to get a good enough grade-out at despatch in the spring, thankfully it is a relatively quiet time of year,

The big admin job completed this week was getting the main plant orders for potting next year out to our numerous suppliers. I haven't added it all up yet but I know I have ordered more from every one of them, so we are going to have our work cut out getting it all potted and finding room for it all. Hopefully the weather and consumer demand will be on our side from reasonably early in the year, so we can clear crops quickly and make sufficient space for it all. I have dropped a few lines that were either giving us problems or not selling well enough and replaced them with a lot more. Having had a little more time to research my ordering this year I did get a bit carried away with ordering new varieties, it was just all too tempting. Hopefully they will be super popular and fly off the shelves. I will try and get sorted with an updated full plant list for next year before we go away, so you can update your systems or fantasise about the spring sales boom to come.

The next couple of weeks may be a bit tense as the chickens come home to roost in the end of year accounts, which ended last week. Initial figures will be my own and always treated with a hint of scepticism, although it is one area at college where I did pick up some useful skills. To date we have been feeling fairly positive about the year, seeing increased sales, improving efficiency and reduced wastage, which hopefully will balance out some of those increasing costs. We have always managed to keep our annual prices rise at below the prevailing inflation rate and I often worry that one day this practice will bite me on the bum, but touch wood we have got away with it so far, I can still see room for more efficiencies to work on over the coming season, so I'm sure we will manage it again, but it's those annual accounts giving our bank confidence, and the cash-flow, that will determine our future, as it does every year.

A surprise extra tunnel to cover next week. We had just cleverly replaced the wood side rails without completely removing the cover, when someone noticed two new splits had appeared over the end hoops. We might have patched it if it had just been one, but two means it's ready to pop all over. We have a spare cover in stock, some perfect re-covering weather due on Monday and a crack team to get it stretched and fixed tightly in no time at all, so no worries there.

Availability list.

Cyclamen coum pink and white forms are already on the list and showing the occasional bud. These will usually flower from October through until well into Spring, with a tasteful sprinkling of flowers rather than being drowned in them.

There are already a few flowers on the Helleborus niger varieties so Santa can't be far away! A new variety of H. orientalis for us is Halcyon Early Dark Red and it has surprised us by showing a few buds already. We have plenty of Sedum Autumn Joy in bud this year for that classic autumn show and pollinator jamboree. We cut it back early to make it flower on a more manageable short stem, so beware it will be taller in the garden next year.

The ever-giving Erigeron karv. Stallone is available in bud again this week and should be around for ages as this is our big overwintering batch we are into now. If the weather is with us we often still have colour up to Christmas. Tiarella are looking healthy with plenty of flower. Masses of colour on the new batch of Erodium Bishops Form which should flower for quite a while yet. Foliage colour looking smart on Ajuga and Heuchera always popular autumn lines.

Wooden box collections

If you have any of our wooden boxes ready to return and aren't expecting to order anytime soon, then please do drop us an email and let us know. A rough idea of numbers might be handy but not essential. We will get to you as soon as we have a vehicle with space in your area. Thanks

Take care out there,  from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries

Hairy tours

Hi,

Luckily we missed the storm on Wednesday, having prepared for a good blow we actually had quite a nice day. I'm not complaining, I'm sure there will be more squally autumnal weather to come over the next few weeks.

We had a slight panic on Monday as we started checking all hatches where battened down for later in the week, when it became evident that one of the tunnel sides was unzipping itself along its entire length. Usually it would be plastic fatigue causing so much daylight to be evident, but this time it was a completely rotted wooden side rail which just split apart. Back on the phone for another wood delivery, we were on the case pretty quickly. By the end of Tuesday Jack had detached the side netting and removed the old battening and replaced the rails one at a time. This meant he could reattached the aluminium grip strip, which was still holding the main plastic cover, as he went along, retaining the sheet tension and avoiding a complete recover. it worked a treat and all is now secure again. We double checked the rest of the nursery and found a few other suspect rails which we also replaced, but luckily none quite as bad as that first one.

Forklift is back on its feet again after a new water pump bearing was replaced. It's only when you are without a bit of kit that you realise how much you need it. It must be way over 20 years old now, but we don't put many hours on it and look after it carefully, so it is still going strong. Famous last words.

Thursday evening saw a big group from one of the local villages come round on a nursery tour. It was a bit late in the year for an evening visit as it gets dark so early, and to throw an extra spanner in the works it started raining almost the instant they arrived. My usual approach is to walk the nursery which prompts me into remembering most of the key points I like to waffle on about. The rain however forced a change in presentation plans, resulting in a brief tunnel visit for some 'show and tell' and a huddle round the potting machine for a full on working demo. Luckily it was all set up for the next morning's work so we were able to demonstrate the finer workings and get a few trays potted at the same time. The final shift was in despatch where I went through the complete despatch process, workstation set up, box construction, label making as well as our general sustainable approach to commercial nursery life. I did warn them all at the start that there wouldn't be much they would learn about plants, which I suspect was what they were expecting, but they all seemed quite excited by the end if a little anxious to get away for their supper as time had quickly passed! Hardly anyone yawned which is usually my guide to a successful tour. Glad I don't do too much of that sort of thing though, the adrenalin rush and comedown afterwards I find is really tiring. Still a good thing to do I know.

Availability list.

Plenty of fast growing stock at the moment with some lines only available for just a few weeks before they get too big and have to wait for the main spring sales period after we have completed their overwinter manicure (cut back and mulched). Cylamen coum pink and white forms are already on the list and showing the occasional bud. These will usually flower from October through until well into Spring, with a tasteful sprinkling of flowers rather than being drowned in them.

The Asters are beginning to show some colour now as buds swell and open. Tiarella are looking healthy with plenty of flower. We have plenty of Sedum Autumn Joy in bud this year for that classic autumn show and pollinator jamboree. We cut it back early to make it flower on a more manageable short stem, so beware it will be taller in the garden next year. There are some buds on a few of the Anemones.

Masses of colour on the new batch of Erodium Bishops Form which should flower for quite a while yet. Foliage colour looking smart on Ajuga and Heuchera always popular autumn lines. The ever-giving Erigeron karv. Stallone is available again this week and should be around for ages as this is our big overwintering batch we are into now. If the weather is with us we often still have colour up to Christmas.

A slightly odd collection to see in bud and flower are the Phlox paniculata and subulata ranges but there they are. The paniculata range is shorter than 'normal' as they are this summers potting so haven't yet reached full size but they are strong growing and giving a hint of next year's potential show. There are already a few flowers on the Helleborus niger varieties so Santa can't be far away! A new variety of H. orientalis for us is Halcyon Early Dark Red and it has surprised us by showing a few buds already. 

Wooden box collections

If you have any of our wooden boxes ready to return and aren't expecting to order anytime soon, then please do drop us an email and let us know. A rough idea of numbers might be handy but not essential. We will get to you as soon as we have a vehicle with space in your area. Thanks

Take care out there,  from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.